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Sydney Airport Runway Near-Misses Probed as Controller Fatigue Flagged
The ATSB released preliminary reports on six runway safety events at Sydney Airport in July–August, including a Category A incursion — only Australia's third since 2003 — as data showed the controller faced high predicted fatigue risk.
Why it matters
A Category A runway incursion — the highest international severity level — is extraordinarily rare: only the third recorded in Australia since 2003. That it happened at the country's busiest airport, with a fatigued controller on duty, has put Sydney's post-COVID safety record under the microscope.
Full report
The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) on Wednesday, Sept 30, released four preliminary reports covering six runway-related safety events at Sydney Airport (Kingsford Smith) between July and August 2026.
The most serious occurred on July 27: a controller cleared a Qantas Boeing 737, flight QF124 from Queenstown, New Zealand, carrying 157 people, to cross the runway while a QantasLink Dash 8, flight QLK424D from Canberra carrying 55 people, was landing. Both aircraft came to a stop about 120 metres apart; no one was injured. The event was classified as a Category A runway incursion — the highest international level, and only the third in Australia since the ATSB began records in 2003.
The reports show the controller on duty had a "high predicted fatigue risk"; Airservices Australia's own rostering model had predicted the fatigue risk at the time of the incident. The investigation will examine controller overload, overtime used to cover staffing gaps, and training being conducted while on shift.
ATSB Commissioner Angus Mitchell said Sydney Airport's post-COVID ground-conflict rate was the highest among Australia's major airports — more than 20 percent above the national average. In another August event, a Jetstar A320 braked sharply to avoid a towed, empty Qatar Airways Boeing 777, leaving a crew member with a broken wrist. The preliminary reports make no findings or recommendations; final analysis is to follow.
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